Staff Profile

Career Summary

Biography

David Durrheim, MBChB, DrPH, DCH, DTM&H, MPH&TM, FACTM, FAFPHM, is the Director of Health Protection, Hunter New England Health, New South Wales, Australia, Conjoint Professor of Public Health Medicine at the University of Newcastle, Australia and Adjunct Professor of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University, Queensland, Australia.

He has an established track record in conducting public research that has an operational focus and is translational in nature. His ability to use operational research findings to assist local public health programs to improve their surveillance and service delivery, particularly in challenging under-resourced environments, has resulted in a number of awards and international recognition. He has been instrumental in developing novel surveillance systems to detect and facilitate response to emerging infectious disease risks. Professor Durrheim is an outspoken advocate for equitable global access to effective public health measures, particularly immunization.

In the past decade he has served as an expert adviser and consultant to a number of World Health Organization (WHO), regional and national health programmes in the African and Pacific Regions. He also served as the Director of a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Vectorborne Diseases.

Professor Durrheim's research interests include novel infectious disease surveillance methods, control of zoonotic diseases and strategies for reducing inequity in public health service delivery. He has over 200 peer-reviewed publications, and has published several scientific monographs and chapters in leading public health texts.

Qualifications

Doctor of Public Health, James Cook University, 29/03/2003

Post Graduate Diploma in Community Health, University of Pretoria - South Africa, 27/03/1996

Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University, 17/04/1999

Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery, University of Pretoria - South Africa, 11/02/1992

Diploma in Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, University of Witwatersrand, 01/12/1994

Research

Research keywords

biosecurity

emerging infectious diseases

immunisation

public health surveillance

Research expertise

David Durrheim, MBChB, DrPH, DCH, DTM&H, MPH&TM, FACTM, FAFPHM, is the Director of Health Protection, Hunter New England Health, New South Wales, Australia and Conjoint Professor of Public Health Medicine at the University of Newcastle. He has an established track record in conducting public research that has an operational focus and is translational in nature. His ability to use operational research findings to assist local public health programs to improve their surveillance and service delivery, particularly in challenging under-resourced environments, has resulted in a number of awards and international recognition. He has been instrumental in developing novel surveillance systems to detect and facilitate response to emerging infectious disease risks. Professor Durrheim is an outspoken advocate for equitable global access to effective public health measures, particularly immunization.

In the past decade he has served as an expert adviser and consultant to a number of World Health Organization (WHO), regional and national health programmes in the African and Pacific Regions. He also served as the Director of a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Vectorborne Diseases.

Professor Durrheim's research interests include novel infectious disease surveillance methods, control of zoonotic diseases and strategies for reducing inequity in public health service delivery. He has over 200 peer-reviewed publications, and has published several scientific monographs and chapters in leading public health texts.

Hanson D, Hanson J, Vardon P, McFarlane K, Speare R, Durrheim DN, 'Documenting the development of social capital in a community Safety Promotion Network: It's not what you know but who you know', Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 19 144-151 (2008) [C1]

Durrheim DN, Muller R, Saunders VL, Speare R, Lowe JB, 'A population survey--would Australian general practice be the first point of contact during an anthrax bioterrorism event?', Australian Family Physician, 35 172-174 (2006) [C1]